Greece
10
 DAYS IN 
Greece

Greece was (another) super last-minute trip. It was the tail-end of my Italy trip, and a couple of my friends asked if I was interested in another trip, and here I am. We planned and booked the entire trip 2 nights before we flew. 

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Greece is not a popular destination in winter. Still, since we were not looking to go into the water, it was one of the best experiences because we not only avoided the craziest crowds, but we pretty much had the entire island by ourselves. Shops and restaurants were limited since many of them were closed, but hot tip - the less popular islands were less prone to tourist cycles and were business as usual.

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TRANSPORT | There were more logistics involved than I expected - we wanted to do some island hopping in the Aegean Islands, but we were not expecting ferry schedules to be so sparse in December (non-peak). There were very few direct ferries between Athens and the islands, so we had to do some crazy mix-and-match and stop over at a couple more islands. We used Ferryhopper, which made it a lot easier to chart out our island-hopping itinerary. On the bright side, we decided to spend a day on all the islands, and every island was just amazing. Now I get why people say to skip the summer crowd in Santorini and Mykonos; the experience on the other islands is very much on par.

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DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY | It wasn’t much of a choice since we were subject to ferry schedules, but as much as I loved all of the islands, I wish I had at least a full day for each of the islands we visited.

 

HIGHLIGHTS | Athens, Meteora, Santorini, Paros, Syros, Mykonos

Day 2: Meteora - a day trip from Athens

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Meteora was impressive, like really impressive. The rock formations were incredible, but what made it a unique experience was witnessing the 6 monasteries precariously perched on those rock pillars. It was worth walking through these monasteries and learning how they came to be.

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We bought tickets in advance and took a train from Athens (Larissa) station to Meteora (Kalambaki) station. It was a 4-hour ride each way (it’s worth it...), so we took the earliest train at 7.20 am and took the last train at 5.15 pm.

Day 2: Meteora - a day trip from Athens

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Meteora was impressive, like really impressive. The rock formations were incredible, but what made it a unique experience was witnessing the 6 monasteries precariously perched on those rock pillars. It was worth walking through these monasteries and learning how they came to be.

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We bought tickets in advance and took a train from Athens (Larissa) station to Meteora (Kalambaki) station. It was a 4-hour ride each way (it’s worth it...), so we took the earliest train at 7.20 am and took the last train at 5.15 pm.

Day 3: Athens

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ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

ROMAN FORUM OF ATHENS (ROMAN AGORA)

ANCIENT AGORA OF ATHENS

STOA OF ATTALOS

MONASTIRAKI SQUARE

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As an honorary Evangelismos resident, we had to start the day at the incredible Kora. The pastries were excellent, and we started our day on a high!

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We walked to all the main spots and used Rick Steves’ audio guide, which provided the history of each location. Admittedly, I don’t remember anything, but walking through the ruins was cool while listening to its history. We skipped the Acropolis Museum, beside the Acropolis, since many of the important pieces of history are in the British Museum, including the Elgin Marbles, which have been the subject of a long, ongoing dispute. I’ve been to the Acropolis Museum on a previous trip and to the British Museum countless times, and I’m glad that at least admission into the British Museum (and all British museums) is free.

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We completed the Acropolis of Athens in time for lunch, and LIONDI right outside the Acropolis was a feast! I could eat that every day.

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Athens was just such a special place with the ancient and modern so intertwined within the city, and even though there was much more to see, it was nice to slow down and take it all in.

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Day 4 - 6: Santorini

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OIA

THIRA

RED BEACH

ANCIENT THERA

AKROTIRI LIGHTHOUSE (BEST SUNSET!)

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There are two ways to get to Santorini - by plane and ferry - and we took the plane because it was at a similar price point but so much faster, not to mention the many ferry rides to come. We rented a car that we picked up at the airport because it was so much more convenient when most of the places were scattered across the entire western coastline, and the roads were just great to drive on. Buses were available, but were infrequent, and we didn’t want to be stranded.

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WE STAYED AT an Airbnb in Kamari that went completely wrong. The host wasn’t there in person and allocated us the wrong room, which I had taken a picture of to check that we were entering the right one. When I realized it after, she quickly became defensive and hostile through our communications, so we left the next morning and found something super last minute. Luckily, we found Cally Cave, which was much nicer and unique. It was spacious, well-decorated, and just the Aegean vibes we sought. A good end to our first bad Airbnb experience!

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It would have been a special experience to book a cave in Oia or Thira overlooking the Aegean Sea, which I did back in 2015, but it was a budget-friendly trip, so it was good enough sitting along the Thira and Akrotiri coasts to watch the sunset.

Day 7: Paros

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PARIKIA

LEFKES

MONASTERY LOGOVARDA

NAOUSSA

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For the rest of the ferry rides, we booked everything through Ferryhopper, which made it easier to map out the ferry schedules. During peak months, almost all the islands had direct ferry routes, but in December, routes between the popular ones were indirect and much less frequent, so we had to stopover at other islands. We took that as an opportunity to explore the different islands, and no regrets because I wouldn’t have visited my favorite islands!

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Paros is a 3-hour ferry ride from Santorini, and I don’t think there was a lot to do here, but I adored the old port of Naoussa (must). To visit Naoussa and Lefkes, we rented a car from a rental company near the port for a couple of hours.

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WE STAYED AT Margarita Studios, a simple family-run hotel near the port.

Day 8: Syros

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Syros was a 1.5-hour ride from Paros, and it was much different than the other islands because it was much less tourist-centric. Fewer businesses catered to tourists and less of an international presence, so I felt immersed amongst the locals. The livelier atmosphere was a good balance after having the slightly empty Santorini and Paros to ourselves.

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We had less than a day here, so we only spent the time walking around the town of Ermoupolis, where the port is, and this was not for the faint-hearted because it was a full-time stairs-walking lifestyle. Many older adults lived in the area, and they dominated those steps.

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WE STAYED AT Thania’s House. It was a great location and nice enough for a short stay.

Day 9: Mykonos

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I wanted to visit Mykonos after getting mesmerized by the videos online, and felt a bit of regret for only visiting Santorini back in 2015. It is terrific, and the waters were just unreal. I still think about the sunsets I saw as I sat by the Mykonos Old Port. However, it is extremely commercialized - full of large brands and purely catered to tourists, so it was a ghost town in the off-season. Outside of partying in peak seasons, there wasn’t much in Mykonos.

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WE STAYED AT Villa Elina. The balcony with a great view and hot tub sold me. It was a very nice place to stay in and I loved every minute of it. However, the location wasn’t optimal. I picked it because it was close to the port, so we didn’t have to drag our luggage far, but in hindsight, it would have been more convenient to stay near the old port, where everything is, instead of walking 40 minutes to the center. Of course, with a car, it’s a different story.